Coping Mechanism
by TheTeenWonder
Summary: Robin becomes what people need him to be, a cheery light in the darkness, a fearless leader... But what if he has no personality at all?


**So, uh, since I don't know what to do for chapter 3 of Two Sides of the Same Coin, I decided to get this idea off my chest. I thought "Robin's portrayal and personality changes according to the people around him!" and this was born. Not really what I was going for but the story gained a mind of it's own...**

 **I don't own any of the characters, DC does.**

 **I hope you like the story!**

"Friend Robin, do you wish to join us for the night of the movies?" Starfire. Her voice, as always, sounded excited but I heard the undertone of her bracing herself for dissapointment. Maybe she subconciously knew I could see through it. Maybe she wanted me to feel bad so I would comply? Of course, she couldn't know that I saw through her façade. She was too oblivious, too naive for that. And was it endearing? No. After all, obliviousness and naivete made you easy to manipulate, and be killed.

"No thanks, Star. I think I'm going to sleep. I'm pretty worn out." I shot her a gentle smile. I don't love her. I don't think I love anyone. Can I love? I shook off the thoughts. If she saw I was distracted she would surely question me, and I didn't need that right now.

"Oh..." Her smile dropped a little. It was starting to irritate me, anyways. "Well, I hope you have the most pleasent dreams!" I smiled. I don't dream. She floated away, barely concealing her dissapointment.

I started walking towards my room.

 **Flashback**

A tall man dressed in black stood beside a cheerful, traffic light colored boy.

"The view is great from here! Don't you agree, Batman?" The boy chirped, bouncing a little on his feet.

The man let the corners of his mouth twitch up in a rare smile at the enthusiasm of the boy beside him. His light in the darkness...

 **XXXXXXX**

He entered his room as he let the façade drop. Was it really a façade, though? Just thinking about it made his head hurt. If only they knew... No. If they knew, they would stay away from him. Cart him off to a mental hospital. But he was fine. Yes, he was fine.

He peeled off his mask and stared into the mirror. His eyes were blank when he wasn't acting. When he wasn't assuming the role of the person people needed him to be. A bright source of light to the Bat, a caring but strong leader to the Titans...

That was why he left Batman, wasn't it? Because his façade was cracking. He just needed time to glue his mask back together, but fate threw the Titans in his way. The teens needed someone to lead them, and when there was a hole that needed to be filled, he just couldn't keep away. Because maybe, just maybe, the emptiness would go away.

It didn't.

He didn't recognize the eyes he saw in the mirror. Richard Grayson was dead, died that night along with his parents. Safely tucked in deep in his mind. He was Robin now. Or had he always been? Robin saved people. Robin made people happy. He refused to call himself a coping mechanism, he was a far better person than Richard.

He sat at his desk, numbly going through a few case files. Eventually he fell asleep.

 _He didn't dream._

 **XXXXXXX**

Slade was fascinated by the young boy. He reminded him so much of his younger days... Ever since he lost Grant he was looking for an apprentice. Robin was _perfect_. Rose just didn't cut it, and he was glad Joseph had no intention of following in his footsteps.

"We are very much alike." he lost count of how many times he said that to the boy. He couldn't stop himself from being pleasantly surprised and more interested as the boy continued to pass every test he put him through.

The boy even survived the modified fear gas he installed in his mask! He just kept pulling Slade in...

He managed to make Rose and Joseph join the Teen Titans... Very manipulative. Even though he was upset that the boy swayed his children, he was impressed.

Richard Grayson was going to join him.

 **XXXXXXX**

He had been fighting the Teen Titans for a few hours now, and only the pesky alien girl and Robin were left standing. They exchanged a few words, Slade guessed it was a plan of attack, and the red haired girl started flying towards him at top speed. He dodged at the last second and banged his fist against the back of her head, knocking her out cold.

While that was going on Robin had been silently nearing Slade. Slade turned to him.

"Sacrificing your friend so you can take me by surprise? Why, Robin, that is exactly what I would do." The man purred at the end.

"We are very much alike."

 **XXXXXXXX**

"We are very much alike." He let out a cruel laugh, startling the older male.

He didn't have a personality. Slade didn't know him. Slade didn't know _anything_. Richard Grayson wasn't under that mask. He was Robin. _Only_ Robin. Had been for a long time. He smiled a cruel smile that looked out of place on his face.

" _You know nothing._ " He said. Slade's single eye showed his uncertainty. He could see the madness in those white lenses of his mask, and yet they were so empty. Devoid of all emotion. _Empty_. For the first time in a very long while, Slade was deeply unsettled.

 **XXXXXXXX**

I'm not mad, and this isn't something that happened recently. I have always been like this. Ever since that day... Maybe Richard Grayson is still alive, somewhere. Somewhere deep in my... his... our mind. Because he can feel his heart beating. If Dick died, then so would Robin. He put a hand on the 'R' over his heart. He would make sure the orphan was sheltered from the harsh world, reliving all the happy memories of his parents, somewhere in the back of his head.

The man sitting next to him put a hand on his shoulder.

"I know what it feels like, grandson." William Cobb looked at his great grandson. Even if he denied it now, one day the young one would become the greatest Talon in the history of the Court, he knew it. For now, though, he could spend a few moments where he, too, could feel his heart beating. Where he could remember how it felt to live.

He put an arm around the young boy, feeling whatever was left of his paternal instincts spark back to life, if only for a moment.

If only for a moment, they could feel like they were alive again.

 **A review would make me very happy, please tell me what you think about the story!**


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